


Epiphany

by LadyMuzzMuzz



Series: Three Spardas and a Baby [3]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Fatherly Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23634598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMuzzMuzz/pseuds/LadyMuzzMuzz
Summary: There are legends of what caused Sparda to 'Awaken to Justice'.  Some stories say he met a formidable warrior in battle, other romantic tales say did for the love of a woman.  The truth is much more interesting....
Series: Three Spardas and a Baby [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639282
Comments: 8
Kudos: 94





	Epiphany

**Author's Note:**

> The first line was from an anonymous prompt. The poor nonnie thought they were going to get a cute funny story of Sparda being a disaster dad, but... well.... the story had a mind of it's own.

“Why must I suffer like this?”, Sparda thought to himself as he held the dirty diaper, his demonic senses amplifying the stench tenfold. Vergil’s response was what was supposed to be an adorable giggle, but at this moment, it felt like he was taunting his father. 

Sparda had wanted to be the dutiful husband, wanted to live up to his wife’s expectation of what modern fathers did, but it was difficult not to retch at the smell. Him, the Legendary Dark Knight, who had surrounded himself with the viscera of countless demons, could not stand the stench of baby poop. And now Vergil was getting fussy and impatient at his father's clumsy efforts, attempting to roll over, and risking spreading the disaster that was on his bottom everywhere else. Sparda attempted to still him, as gently as he could, never quite knowing if his strength was too much for the little ones. 

And yet the stubborn as ever four month old Vergil still fought against him, frustrating his father to no end. And as he began to lose his patience, his demon began to roar through, fueled by his ever present anger.

Vergil must have sensed it, because at that moment, his wails began in earnest, grinding against the Dark Knight’s ears. He was about to call for Eva to ask for assistance, to deal with her disappointment (he’d truly wished to help her while she relaxed and nursed Dante), when out of nowhere, Vergil grabbed his ring finger with a tiny, strong, grasp.

_The smells of smoke, death, and decay surrounded Sparda as he looked at the burnt out remains of the villa. He didn’t mind the stench, in fact it strengthened him. Another settlement of weak humans wiped out, Mundus would be pleased._

_A cry came from his left, and he suddenly turned to find the figure half obscured through the smoke. His wings unfurled, blowing the clouds of burning debris away revealing one…no two, no three humans standing there. Two tiny ones huddled behind the taller one, who herself was a small young woman, no…not a woman, a girl. At her feet lay the corpse of one of the Legionaries he had recently dispatched, and now he understood why she stood there. She had looted the soldier , wielding the gladius in one hand, pointed straight at him, with only a slight tremble. In her other hand, she carried a bundle of cloth, no… from the cries it made, it was merely a babe. A sibling? A deceased stranger’s child? Bah why did he care? Humans were weak, and the God-Emperor wished for no weakness in his new kingdom._

_Sparda took one step, and while the children jerked slightly, the girl did not move. Her eyes bore into him, terrified, yet hard as stone. Surely she had no training with a blade! She’d never last a second against him. And yet, she stood her ground._

_“A survivor….” his second in command had approached. “These grubs are not worth your time, my Lord. Not even fit to feed to the Qliphoth. Allow me to finish them off”_

_“No,” The Dark Knight said, for reasons he didn’t quite understand. “Leave them be…”_

_“Mundus’s orders were clear, no survivors”._

_Her eyes remained fixed on him, and Sparda recognized what he was seeing in them._

_Strength._

_Power._

_Perhaps he had been wrong about Humanity… if a mere child could wield such power….perhaps culling them wasn’t the way…perhaps shepherding them, protecting them so they could reach their full potential…_

_“If you will not do it, I shall” the demon unsheathed its blade and began to stalk towards the group, and the babe shrieked…._

_It didn’t make it far. Sparda had already unsheathed his blade, and in the blink of an eye, impaled it._

_“Traitor….” it rasped as it struggled to breathe “Lord Mundus will hear of your betrayal”_

_“And I shall face him..” Sparda responded as it dissipated into ash, leaving the Demon General looking upon the tiny group._

_Sheathing his blade, still covered in demon blood, he approached them. The girl’s defiance remained resolute the closer he got, and the blade only moved when he gently pushed it aside. He towered over her, he could crush her and her companions… and yet…. he felt no urge to, for once in his long life. All he felt was the urge to keep them safe, to protect them._

_“Go,” he ordered softly, “grab what supplies you can carry, and leave this place. Stay out of sight….and get stronger.”_

_Only then did the girl’s composure break,as the gladius wavered and soon she and the other children loaded up their packs, whispering to each other. Sparda watched on, to make sure no other demons interfered. But as they made their way out of the destroyed village, she paused, and gave him something he’d never received from a human: a smile._

_“Thank you,” she said, barely over a whisper, and a giggle came from the bundle. It was a sound that made the Dark Knight feel… strange, but in a good way. Allowing him to take a look at the babe, he slowly reached out with a clawed hand to push away the cloth to get a better view. And to his surprise, the infant reached out to grip one of his claws. At that touch, he could truly feel the strength of Humanity. Not in some blood-concentrated fruit, not even in the countless armies Mundus wielded, but in the grip of what he thought was Humanity’s weakest._

Sparda was knocked out of his flashback by the contented coos of his eldest son. In the boy’s eyes, he saw that girl’s determination. In his tiny grip, he could still feel that unknown child’s strength. And he smiled at Vergil, his doubts about whether he had ever been mistaken about Humanity washed away. His sons would be strong, not from him, but from their mother and their human bloodline. He wiped up the remaining mess (and now the stench didn’t bother him as much), and gently wrapped up Vergil with a new diaper, before cuddling him close to his chest.

“Great deeds will be in your future, and your brother’s” he murmured, as his son began to doze off, “but until then….I shall protect you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for this prompt. I'm sorry if it wasn't what you were going for, but even I cannot control where my brain leads me.


End file.
